The Next Big Step

I did something that I hadn’t intended to do only a few weeks ago. As you know (or if you didn’t now you do), over the past year I’ve lost 58-ish pounds so consequently I had a boat load of clothes that were too big; nice clothes too. Notice I said ‘had’.

Over the months I removed clothes from my closet as they got too big, or I should say, as I shrunk because the clothes didn’t change.😏 I put them in big 33-gallon size lawn bags and stored them in the attic … just in case. In case of what though? … famine, war, natural disasters, financial crisis?? No, in case I crept back up as I’d done before. You who have lost and gained a few times in life know what I mean, right?

Last week, I had sort of a revelation. Although I DO NOT plan to gain weight ever again, I hung on to my big clothes simply because of fear. The only thing that is different now than all the other times is this time I had a mental change that involved losing weight so I can stay healthy and fit, not to look cute. In other words, my motivation was different. So, keeping the clothes was basically a crutch. Would a person who broke a leg keep crutches around after the leg was better in case he/she broke their leg again?? Likely not.

I’m no fashionista by any stretch of the imagination. I like clothes that are somewhat conservative, with a bit of color and flair, and somewhat traditional so I don’t have to buy new clothes each season just to keep up with the styles. I had some nice things in those Lawn and Leaf bags. 😞

Yesterday, I decided to part with them all.

I thought long and hard about what to do with them. I even had some ‘tender moments’ as I inventoried the clothes as I prepared to deliver them. [COMING CLEAN RIGHT HERE: I had to phone a friend for counseling as I held up some favorite shirts and dresses that no longer fit 😒😊…I recovered quickly though. My friend reminded me that God is my Provider and He has moved me to a new healthy place. So true.]

I was encouraged to keep packing up the stuff and soon my car was loaded with bags of clothes (and a few other things) and off I went.

After much thought, I decided to give everything to Must Ministries. I learned of this organization through a church I visited, where I met the President of the organization, who was also the Pastor of th church. I was very impressed with all the organization does in the area. They have a donation center where I delivered all my things. I prayed that whoever received the clothes, whether for free or small donation to the ministry, would be humbly blessed.

Driving away, I felt like I’d lost another 10 pounds! It really was a load off of me to get rid of them. I’m not a pack rat at all (I will blog about my wanna-be minimalist lifestyle at a future time), so getting rid of these things made me happy in multiple ways. I also had to renew my commitment to keeping this fat off because there were no BIG clothes in the attic… a new daily challenge. Who knows, maybe my current clothes will become my new BIG clothes one day. 😉

2 thoughts on “The Next Big Step”

Your post is inspiring. You gave away the clothes that no longer fit you as a promise to yourself that you’re not going back. I think it’s really beautiful that you said a prayer that your donation would help ease someone else’s suffering. I began a blog today, as a kind of diary for my own weight loss journey, I’m looking to build a posistve network of bloggers who will encourage me along the way. Thank you for writing.